Killing drug smugglers would have Unintended Consequences.
You don’t think they can’t find the homes and families of LEOs and elected officials for a little “payback?”
Not to mention that it's already the case that drug dealers face a very real risk of death - yet there's no shortage of them, and when one goes down another springs up to take his place. The money is just too good - thanks to the War On Drugs' hyperinflating drug profits and restricting them to criminal hands.
You do not have to kill a Cartel member before they seek out “payback”.
In Brooks County, they put a hit on the County Sheriff and County Investigator just for getting in their way. Yep, just slowing down the flow.
But what do you want to do Lil Ray, lay down, bend over or ignore it and hope it goes away. Sometimes, you just gotta take the good with the bad.